Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - My daughter is 16 and has PTSD and has had trouble sleeping because

... of nightmares for a long time. We have tried many things but nothing seems to stop the nighmares. I read about prazosin and that it helps with nightmares by increasing REM sleep and blocking the brains response to norepinephine. I don't see any research or information on whether this has been successfully given to children. Could you tell me anything about this drug or some other treatment for nightmares

Answers (3)

I sometimes have nightmares from PTSD, but usually they are not exactly from the event that caused it, but are about events similar to what caused it. I take 25 mg of Seroquel for insomnia, but also I don't really have nightmares, or any dreams that I can remember for that matter. The only thing is that for awhile I was on too high of a dose of it and I couldn't get out of bed for like 15 hrs. and if I did, I was completely exhausted, so make sure that she's on the right dose. I don't know if this works for everyone, but normally I am a very light sleeper and when I take this, I actually sleep deep enough to not have memorable dreams and reach REM sleep which is something I normally can't do. I also take Vyvanse, which is a stimulant, so it wakes me up so I'm not sleepy the whole day after. Everyone is different, so ask your psychiatrist, but it has been helping me a lot. Good luck, and I am very sorry that your daughter has PTSD. It has been a very hard thing for me to deal with and wish the best for other people with it as well.

The thing about PTSD is that most people including DR. dont relly see the way it effects everything we do see or smell. The drug Brabd name minipress(Prazosin generic} is a wonder drug. I have just had two resent tragic effents in my life that brougth me back from where I was over a decade ago and we tried lits of stuff to get me to sleep. Now tryin 50mg of seroquel this week. working I think but I had to slleep I was going crazy. best of luck

Jingles47, I'm sorry to hear about your daughter; I hope she's seeing a therapsit because it really does help to talk about the issue, no matter how hard it is. I would suggest asking her doctor to prescribe her something to help her sleep. There are some good sleep meds available, but you want to make sure he/she gives her something that WON'T cause nightmares as a side effect and something that isn't habit forming. Hope this helps.

I realize that this post is old but just in case you are still searching for an answer I hope this helps. I suffer from PTSD from my time overseas and the nightmares were never ending, the doctor at the VA gave me a blood pressure medication, that they gave soldiers in vietnam, that completely stopped my dreams. Parzosin might work for her so I hope this helps. I took it off and on for about a year before I got a handle on my nightmares. Best of luck!

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